St Andrew's Day will no doubt see celebrations across Scotland as we look to mark our patron saint's special feast day. But did you know that we won't be the only ones?

That is because St Andrew is also the patron saint of countries as far reaching as Barbados, Greece, Russia, Colombia, Romania and Cyprus.

St Andrew was famed for his good deeds and on November 30 people are being asked to celebrate Scotland’s special day and #BeLikeStAndrew and carry out a little act of kindness.

Whether it’s helping an elderly neighbour or popping into the local charity shop with a bag of clothes, anyone can #BeLikeStAndrew by creating their own little act of kindness – no matter how big or small.

He was known for being strong, sociable and fair, encouraging people to share what they had with those in need - characteristics which people all over the word recognise in Scots, and of which Scots are rightly proud.

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Clearly, Andrew is a very popular guy. But how much do we know about why we celebrate the saint?

St Andrew appears on a fresco in a church in Finland (Image: Getty)

Who?

Andrew the Apostle - to give him his full title - was the elder brother of Saint Peter. His name, in Greek, means manly or brave. Andrew was born near the Sea of Galilee and was called by Jesus to become a "fisher of men". For this reason, he is often depicted in paintings with a fishing net.

Origins in Scotland

St Andrew's Day celebrations in Scotland are thought to date back to the reign of Malcolm III (1034 -1093). He actually moved the Samhain (or, Halloween, as we now know it) festivities to coincide with this date in order to make sure that enough animals were kept alive for the winter food stocks.

We have St Andrew to thank for our Saltire (Image: Getty)

The Saltire

The crisp blue and white flag has marked out Scots all over the world for decades - and we have St Andrew to thank for that. It is thought that Andrew was crucified on a diagonal cross (like the white stripes on the flag) as a martyr, because he deemed himself unworthy to be nailed to a cross in the same way as Jesus. We have adopted this design on our national flag.

Relics

There are relics of Andrew scattered within the many countries who claim him as their patron saint. They are kept at the Basilica of St Andrew in Greece, in Amalfi Cathedal (the Duomo di Sant'Andrea) in Italy, St Mary's Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh and the Church of St Andrew and St Albert in Poland.

St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh is home to relics of St Andrew

Myths and legends

According to legend, in 832 AD, Óengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles. He was heavily outnumbered and, as in a pre-battle prayer, Óengus vowed that if granted victory he would appoint Saint Andrew as the patron saint of Scotland.

On the morning of battle, white clouds formed an X shape in the sky. Óengus took this as a sign as representing the cross upon which Saint Andrew was crucified and so honoured his prayer, appointing Andrew as our patron saint.

The 1320 Declaration of Arbroath cites Scotland's conversion to Christianity by Andrew, "the first to be an Apostle".

A local superstition uses the cross of Saint Andrew as a hex sign on the fireplaces in to prevent witches from flying down the chimeny and entering the house to cause harm.